On behalf of pasty Americans everywhere…

December 21, 2009

Screw you Congress!

Citing cancer concerns, Senate democrats added a provision to their health care bill that would levy a 10% sales tax on tanning services. You can read more here.

Now, I’m not an habitual tanner like some people, but I’ve been known to go on occasion. Sometimes, when you haven’t seen the sun shine in 2 weeks, a little bit of simulated sunlight seems worth the risk. And I do believe 15 minutes in a tanning bed here or there in the winter has actually prevented me from stabbing coworkers in the jugular. So do I think the government has any right whatsoever to tax me extra because I choose to engage in an activity that may or may not cause me harm? Hell no.

All of my choices have an element of risk, and it isn’t the government’s job to penalize me because politicians want to play Big Brother.

Even as opposed as I am to having to pay the tax myself, I’m more concerned about what this will do to the businesses. These people aren’t evil cancer-spreaders. They’re providing a service that people clearly want, as I’ve never seen someone unwilling enter a tanning bed before. They’re often small operations and I’d venture to guess that many of them have been hit by tough economic conditions just like most other businesses.

And this isn’t just about a tanning tax. This speaks to a much bigger problem we have in this country. It’s just a small slice of how our government has turned against us. We’re slowly transitioning into becoming subjects, rather than citizens. We’re no longer being trusted with our own lives.

This might sound incendiary, but if we can’t win back that control through political means, we have to take it back by force. That is, afterall, how we became the great United States of America in the first place, isn’t it?

I honestly have no problem revolting against a government that looks more and more like a regime than an administration.

Related

There is research to indicate that moderate exposure to UVB prevents cancer, via the beneficial effects of vitamin D. Political correctness makes for bad science, lousy economics, and shitty public policy. As well as disastrous healthcare.